UN Rights Chief Calls For International Investigation Into Congo Massacres

At least 42 mass graves have already been found.

FABRICE COFFRINI via Getty Images
Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, High Commissioner of the United Nations for Human Rights, wants an investigation into crimes committed in the Kasai province of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

GENEVA, June 9 (Reuters) - The top United Nations human rights official called on Friday for establishing an international investigation into massacres and other crimes committed in Kasai province of the Democratic Republic of Congo where at least 42 mass graves have been found.

In a statement, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein urged the U.N. Human Rights Council, which is holding a session till June 23, to act as the government “response to date falls short.” Zeid had given the Kinshasa government a June 8 deadline to agree to jointly investigate.

Hundreds of people have been killed and more than a million displaced in central Congo since fighting broke out last August between a local militia and government forces, the United Nations has said.